


Caffeine Addiction

by fuzipenguin



Series: Cake and Coffee [3]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Not Related, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Grieving, M/M, Other, death of a minor character off screen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 16:14:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16705705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuzipenguin/pseuds/fuzipenguin
Summary: Sidney's not ordering coffee tonight, just hugs.





	Caffeine Addiction

**Author's Note:**

> The person Sidney was visiting in the hospital died and he is grieving, if that is a trigger to you.

                Sunny had only been here three months, but he’d never had such a busy Thursday before. From the moment he had clocked in, he had been rushing back and forth to make what seemed like an endless supply of drinks. He’d been out of cake pops for the past two hours and the selection of bakery products in general were looking a little slim. The stock of sandwiches were still good though, and kept drawing in both civilian and hospital staff alike.

                Around 9pm, the crowds finally starting thinning until he sent away a harried looking nurse with four espressos (all triple shot) and looked up to see no one else standing in line. Sunny blinked a little at the empty space in front of his counter and then leaned forward, bracing himself on the surface. He allowed himself a moment to just breathe and settle his nerves before straightening back up.

                It was thirty-five minutes before close; time to start going down the list of closing duties. After his shop shut down there were multiple vending machines available to the staff and visitors until the small café reopened once more at 5am.

                He shuffled to the side a little, absently glancing up to see what kind of damage the seating area had taken and spotting a bowed head of white-blond hair. Sunny squinted, trying to see into the darkest corner of the coffee shop. There was a very comfortable loveseat there, one popular with visitors or staff who wanted just a little bit of quiet as they enjoyed their drink or food.

                Right now, the owner of the blonde hair had their feet up on the small table in front of the loveseat, face resting against their knees. It was only when he spied the skinny jeans and snakeskin boots that Sunny realized who it was.

                “Sid?” he called out, making his way out from behind the employee partition. “Sid, everyone else is gone now if wanted something. Have you been waiting long? It’s kind of been a little crazy and… Sid?”

                Sunny came to a stop just a few feet away from the blonde, looking down at him in concern. Sidney hadn’t moved at all when Sunny had called his name; he just continued to sit there, frighteningly still. Sunny reached out and gently touched Sidney’s shoulder, crouching down a little.

                “Sidney?”

                At the touch, Sidney finally stirred, slowly raising his head and squinting. Biting his lip, Sunny felt his chest constrict at the sight of Sidney’s face. The man’s face was splotchy, the whites of eyes red. It was obvious that he’d been crying; he had eyeliner streaked everywhere, including down his cheeks in little tear tracks.

                “…Sunny?”

                “Yeah. Yeah, it’s me. Hey, what happened?” Sunny asked, slowly lowering himself to perch on the edge of the table next to Sidney’s booted feet. He reflexively reached out and squeezed Sidney’s farthest ankle in a sign of support.

                “I… um…” Sidney uncurled himself a little and swiped the palm of his hand across one cheek, smearing things even further. “I… she…”

                He trailed off, looking at a point over Sunny’s shoulder. Sidney’s eyes unfocused a little, new tears welling up, although not spilling over.

                “I’m… I’m sorry… you probably want to close down, huh?” he asked, blinking a little as he stared around, seeing the shop empty of other people. “I’ll leave…”

                Sunny squeezed Sidney’s leg again, the blonde’s ankle feeling fragile under his hand. “No. Stay right there. Don’t go anywhere, ok?”

                He pushed himself to his feet and strode determinedly over to the door. He shut it firmly, locking it and flipping over the sign from ‘open’ to ‘closed’. Then he rushed back to the counter, leaning over it to grab a bottle of seltzer water and a fresh cleaning rag. As he moved back across the shop, he noted Sidney looking down at his lap, appearing small and lost.

                Sunny came around the other side of the table and sat perpendicularly next to Sidney, his knees just brushing the side of Sidney’s thigh.

                “What did you do?” Sidney asked, his head moving slowly as he examined the now dim interior of the shop. “Did you…”

                “It’s only half an hour to close,” Sunny said matter-of-factly, wetting the cloth with the water. “Denise, one of the other closers, she does it all the time. And she just does it so she can smoke out back. I figure you’re a much better reason.”

                “But…”

                Sidney’s mouth was a little slack as he turned his watery gaze back to Sunny. “… I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

                “Hush. I won’t get in trouble,” Sunny replied. He hoped. “Now let’s fix you up; you’re a mess.”

                He slowly reached out and lightly grasped Sidney’s chin, tilting his head up so Sunny could see better. Then he proceeded to lightly dab at Sidney’s face, brushing away the black tear tracks.

                Sidney swallowed, loud in the quiet room, but didn’t say anything or otherwise move. He sat there placidly, allowing Sunny to tilt his head this way and that, cleaning up all the smears of eyeliner until there were no more. At that point, Sunny was just soaking up regular tears, the liquid trickling down Sidney’s face slowly but steadily.

                “Do you want to talk about it?” Sunny asked quietly, freshening the cloth with a new splash of water. He started patting the side of Sidney’s neck, making his way around to his nape where he let the cold rag lay for a moment.

                Sidney shut his eyes, more tears welling up. He gasped in a tiny breath and then frantically shook his head. “No… I can’t… I just…”

                He leaned forward as if wanting to press against Sunny’s chest, but stopped at the last moment. His shoulders hunched forward and he shivered, the tears falling faster.

                “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I…”

                “Don’t be sorry… there’s nothing to be sorry about,” Sunny murmured, gathering the other man into his arms. Sidney went easily, slumping against Sunny and allowing him to practically pull him into Sunny’s lap. Sidney tentatively slid his hands around Sunny’s waist, pressing his face against Sidney’s collarbone.

                “I’ve got you,” Sunny whispered, his lips brushing against a hair covered ear. He firmed up his embrace and gently rocked back and forth. “I’ve got you.”

                Sidney’s breath hitched and then he started sobbing, clutching at Sunny’s shirt as if it were a lifeline. Within seconds, Sunny felt his shoulder go damp, but he didn’t care. This was the fifth night Sidney had been here. Sunny didn’t trust or relax easily around people, but with Sidney, he always felt at ease. The other man was funny and sweet, with a quick wit and ability to make Sunny smile. And now he was hurting and if Sunny could do nothing else but be a warm body soaking up tears, well… then… he would do so with absolutely no qualms.

                Sidney cried for several minutes, the sobs gradually tapering off into sniffles, which turned into shaky breathing. By then, one of Sunny’s hand had worked its way through the long hairs at the nape of Sidney’s neck, slowly stroking. The strands were silky smooth, slipping through Sunny’s fingers with barely any catch.

                Bit by bit, Sidney’s fingers unclenched from the fists they had formed against Sunny’s lower back. He sniffed a few times, rolling his face back and forth against Sunny’s shoulder.

                “I promise I’m not rubbing snot on you,” Sidney said, voice low and raspy from the crying.

                “I wouldn’t care if you did,” Sunny replied honestly. He reluctantly loosened his grip on Sidney as he started to pull away.

                “You’re sweet. But you have no idea how much snot I produce when I’m sobbing my guts out. What if it’s buckets? And then you’d have to travel home covered in mucus,” Sidney said, rambling. He sat back, rubbing at his eyes.

                “Oh, God, please don’t look at me. I look horrible when I cry,” Sidney said, turning his head away when Sunny bent down, trying to peer into his face.

                “I think you’re beautiful,” Sunny said absently, rewetting the rag and handing it to Sidney.

                Sidney grabbed it automatically, but just stared at Sunny, mouth hanging open a little. Finally he shook his head and started wiping at his face.

                “ _Jesus_. You can’t _say_ stuff like that. Who are you even?”

                Sunny shrugged, a little embarrassed because it had just slipped out. Although it was true. Sidney’s blue eyes were red and swollen, his entire face mottled, and his hair limp. But he still was the most beautiful person Sunny had ever seen.

                The sat in silence for another minute, Sunny staring at his own knees, more uncomfortable now than when Sidney was crying into his shoulder. It was easy to be silently and physically supportive, but _words_ had never really come easily to him. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what or how.

                “My sister died.”

                Sunstreaker’s head shot up in shock and he stared at Sidney. Sidney made a vague motion with one of his hands.

                “So… you know… that’s why…” He gestured at himself and then bit his lower lip, gaze dropping to the surface of the love seat. He picked at a tiny stain with one chipped fingernail. “She was my twin. Even though we had grown apart these last few years… she was still my sister. Still my twin. It’s like I lost an entire limb.”

                He choked on the last word and Sunny automatically reached out, threading his fingers between Sidney’s and squeezing. Sidney squeezed back, so hard that Sunny had to fight not to wince.

                “What happened?” Sunny finally asked, hushed.

                Sidney raised his head, swiping at a few more escaping tears. “MS. So you know… there’s that. Not only did I lose Becca, but there’s a good possibility I’m going to develop it too.”

                “I didn’t… didn’t think people died from it,” Sunny said, at a loss.

                “She had a rare severe form. Progressive. And she was so stubborn; she refused treatment until the end,” Sidney said, voice sounding a little hollow. He was looking unfocused again so Sunny swiped his thumb over the back of Sidney’s knuckles.

                “I’m sorry. I… don’t really know what else to say,” Sunny admitted, ducking his head in shame. He just wasn’t any good at this!

                “Dude… don’t.” Sidney leaned to the side a little, catching Sunny’s gaze. He raised their linked hands and shook them a little. “You really don’t have to say anything.”

                The smile he gave Sunny was tentative but true. The shame melted away and Sunny smiled back. He brought their linked hands up to his lips and brushed them against the back of Sidney’s fingers.

                Sidney’s eyes widened a little and he drew in a shaky breath.

                “… you are incredibly dangerous for human consumption, did you know that?”

 

~ End

               

               


End file.
